Konoha's Flying Shadow
by twin angst
Summary: Slight AU. YYHxNaruto Cross over. Hiei's death has come and passed, but it's not always as easy as that. He still finds himself cursing Koenma; especially when he gets landed with Hatake Kakashi.
1. Chapter 1

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Author's Note;

_LISTEN UP!_ I know that most of you have tendencies to just skip this part to get on with the true story.. but hear me out, okay? This is the first time I have ever been on FFN, in like.. over 6 months probably. I didn't count, but I would just like to let you guys know that I am still VERRYYY much alive! Just caught up in my whole life, but I'm back :)

Sooo, thanks for your kind consideration. Happy read !

_**Disclaimer**; _I wish I owned Naruto and Yu Yu Hakusho. Read; I _wish._

**_SUMMERY :_** Slight AU. Hiei's death has come and passed, but it's not always as easy as that. He still finds himself cursing Koenma; especially after he gets landed with one Hatake Kakashi.

Takes place after the end of the Yu Yu Hakusho series, and just after Kyuubi's imprisonment.

* * *

**Konoha's Flying Shadow**

_Chapter One : Silver Heads_

_Hiei dug his sword into the ground before them and with a violent twist, ploughed his blade right back out. It was a foolish move, he knew, but in an odd sort of way, it was the only thing he could think of that seemed to work. Save them, his mind was screaming at him, save the people who saved you from yourself. He panted, tired, and wiped the sweat off his brows._

_Slowly, ever so slowly, the crack on the cliff spread._

* * *

Hatake Kakashi scratched at his silver mane. He had always prided himself on being a reliable source and a responsibly practical guy. If someone were looking for an employee to hire, he would probably be the best reference. That is if they were to ignore certain tardiness issues... but all in all, he was a pretty good employee.

Then again, there were just some things, though rare, that could put him off.

He stared at the naked baby.

Approaching the child, he unconsciously noted that it was male.

_Right...what do I do with it?_ He thought slowly.

The rhythmic rise of his chest told him little of his state, other then he was alive, but for how long still, he did not know. There were scorch marks covering the ground around the baby, but strangely, he was left unharmed. Kakashi reached a tentative hand towards it, awkwardly lifting the tiny bundle of limbs into his arms. Juggling him in one hand, he pulled his cloak from his shoulders, wrapping the slumbering child in its warmth. Securing the sling he'd created, he made sure not to shake the tiny thing, for fear of injuring it more then it might already have been. With a sigh, he stood, readjusting the large scroll on his back and jumped into the trees, headed for Konoha.

* * *

Sarutobi stared in wonder at the sleeping baby. The light tousle of silver hair matched Kakashi's, though it bore a shimmer of teal. Upon reporting back to his mission, Kakashi had presented not just the scroll of seals, but an injured infant as well. If he hadn't known the young man was quite happily involved in his porno books and nothing else, he would have guessed that the newborn was his son.

He scratched his beard thoughtfully.

Then again.. that wasn't such a bad idea.

Sarutobi tilted his hat down and smiled to himself.

_Ku ku ku ku ku..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note ;** Okay, no reviews so far. Doesn't really bother me, not as much as it should, because I can _still_ see exactly how many people are saving this into their favorites, and on their alert lists... and those many people who have actually _read_ it... come _on_, guys! You took the time to read, please take the time to review. It helps build inspiration in a writer when someone let's them know exactly how well they've done. I'm not that bad a writer, am I? And also considering how fast I'm updating this story..

..

Right, um. How about this; gift to the first reviewer! :) Type in your review what you want written, how great I am(kidding, you don't have to.. then again--cough, anyways), and I'll express my gratitude with a one-shot of their choice. Yup. And hurry before the writing mood fades! I've already got 5 chapters of this story written and the next 10 of them outlined. I need to know whether it should be abandoned or continued by the next few chapters.

I also write for feedback. No feedback bad author, which also means I've no way of getting any sort of criticism to better my works. **Please review.** Thanks. Flames are accepted, though not highly appreciated.

**_Disclaimer;_** One could only dream... -sigh-.

* * *

**Konoha's Flying Shadow  
**_Chapter 2 ; _He, she... it

* * *

_Hiei spun on his heels, his foot lashing out in a quick kick to the right before rolling to the ground, barely missing being scorched. Sneering, he balled his free hand, pumping it with youki and engulfing it with black flames__. He sent his fist crashing straight through a demon's middle. It squawked, doubling over in pain, and fell to the floor in a pool of its own blood. Red tinted black ooze still spurted out of the hole Hiei had created even after it'd fallen, but he paid it no mind._

_H__owever, he had no time for triumph._

_Hiei quickly evaded a large blast, disappearing in a blur, leaving behind but a shadow of his self._

_He growled with frustration. It seemed that, for every one of his enemies he killed, another dozen would take its place.__ Ruby eyes scanned the army of low classed demons; skin toned of all colors, coming in all sizes and harbouring different weapons. Lazily, almost unconsciously, he swept his blade in an arch, effectively deflecting a barrage of arrows._

_He sheathed his katana. __Slowly, he reached a hand down to undo the binds of his right arm. It was time._

* * *

A baby lay in a basket, wrapped to the chin with a sushi patterned sheet. His tussle of hair was hidden beneath a bonnet, keeping the light chill of the coming winter from freezing the infant's head. Though it never snowed in Konoha, you could say that the cold breeze felt just as though it always had. The child's mouth parted softly, his rhythmic breath disturbing the peace of silence. Next to the basket wherein he slept, a bag lay slumped against the wall. It came in the same green color of his sheets, equally patterned with tiny food imprints.

Sarutobi twitched.

He knew he had made the right decision when he opted against outstretching his hand forward, for he knew that, arthritis or not, it would have ached immensely. Time passed by serenely, the clock ticking away. Though it was in the next room, it echoed painfully loud in their ears. The sun shone brightly in the sky, but it would soon set, he knew. There were stacks of papers lining the Hokage's desk, abandoned, and waiting to be read.

Across his desk, Kakashi didn't budge. Smoke filtered out of Sarutobi's pipe as he gnawed on it, doing his best not to show his irritation.

"Kakashi…"

There was a hint of warning beneath his voice, but he received nothing but a blank stare in return. The muscle above his left brow twitched inaudibly.

Sarutobi gave his best I-am-the-Hokage-therefor-you-have-to-do-whatever-the-hell-I-say look. There was a pause as time stretched, creating much tension. With a sigh, the younger shinobi reached a hesitant hand to his face, first tracing the worn surface, before slowly peeling off his ANBU mask. The Hokage wasn't surprised to see a face mask covering the lower section of Kakashi's head. He stretched his arm out, flexing his fingers lightly and turned his hand, palm up, waiting patiently. He had waited four hours for this; he could wait another few minutes. Besides, it gave him an excuse not to do paperwork, as annoying as his peer was being at the moment.

The old man unconsciously held his breath, watching intently as the mask inched at a snails pace into his awaiting hand. As wood and flesh made contact, he grasped it firmly and tugged.

Sarutobi twitched once more.

"Ka_kashi_…"

He tugged at the mask again, this time slightly with more force, glaring heatedly at the other pale hand still clutching at the wooden mask. It did not budge from between them. Sweat had broken out on Kakashi's temple, shoulders tense and the single eye visible was narrowed, swirling with emotions, desperately trying his best to hide that fact. He was surprised out of his stupor, mental mantra of _'letgoletgoletgoletgo'_ pausing briefly to gape at the other hand that had covered his.

His knuckles were white from the harsh grip he pertained, but another hand, though wrinkled, easily unfolded his own, digit by digit, with surprising strength. When the mask was torn away, he settled with fisting his shaking limb on his lap.

A warm hand settled on his shoulder, lightly squeezing it in a sign of comfort. Kakashi looked behind him, wondering briefly when his village leader had found the time to move. In the corner of his eye, he saw his dog mask settled comfortable atop the desk and stomped on the rising desire of snatching it back and _poof_'ing away. Mentally slapping himself, he forced himself to look into Sarutobi's eyes.

"I…" he choked on emtion, the words dying on his lips.

The hokage didn't say anything, merely smoking that awful smelling pipe of his, and averted his gaze to the corner of the room. A single, black eye followed it back to the basket near the window. Though he bore a face mask, Sarutobi could easily distinguish the small frown gracing his lips from the way his silver brows pulled together.

"But..." he began.

He raised a brow at the 19 year old jounin.

"We don't even know its _name_…"

Was that a hint of whining he heard in his voice…?

"His." He corrected gently to the confused gaze of his pupil, "His name. And the decision is yours, Kakashi."

"I don't want it." Was the immediate reply.

He turned back to meet the single gaze.

"Him." He corrected once more, without pause, "And you need not desire the infant, I am simply handing over guardianship to you. He is now your charge." He paused thoughtfully, completely ignoring the look Kakashi was sending him. "Think of him as a mission."

"I don't want it." Kakashi repeated, wincing internally at the childish note his voice resounded, but he stood his ground, glaring as much as he could with only one eye. Already a glance at the Hokage let him know that it was battle fought in vain; for all he knew, he had lost before it had even begun. He cringed at the glint in Sarutobi's eyes, expecting the worst.

It was for a lost cause, he already knew, but the ANBU was his life, and he wasn't going to go down without a fight. He put as much hate with a hint of pleading as he could into his one good eye, but the continuously rising feeling of dread didn't leave him. Time passed, a cricket chirped somewhere... the rythmic breathing of the infant remained.

No longer able to meet the Hokage's gaze, he glared at the basket.

* * *

With a sigh, the silver haired man readjusted the bag on his shoulder, the basket wherein the baby lay tucked securely in his hands. Turning slightly, he glared heatedly at the Hokage tower where he imagined its resident was peeking out the window with an incredibly smug look on his wrinkled face. He turned back in the direction of his home, jumping atop a new ramen stand. _Stupid old man,_ he thought viciously.

A rather violent gust of wind blew past them, the jounin hunching over to protect the newborn. His eyes widened as the note clipped to his effeminate knapsack was torn off.

Kakashi stared in the direction the letter had been blown away to, wondering briefly if he should have run after it or not, before deciding it was just a stupid note written by Sarutobi meant to antagonize him more. _A letter of instructions..._he scoffed, glancing at the sleeping infant. It was A-ranked, not even S, or double S for that matter. And he was _Hatake Kakashi_, come on, did he have that little faith in such an incredible shinobi?

_Besides.. _he thought, examining the cartoon-like drawn sushi's on the baby's sheets, _how hard could it be?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note;** Hey, two reviews in comparison to the hundreds who've actually checked this out. Awesome. Well, thanks to you my lovelies. Your time wasted was greatly appreciated! This was supposed to come out sunday, but my baby sister's christening was right around the corner so umm... right, no excuses. Well, here we are! Happy read!

_SPECIAL THANKS TO PURPLE DRAKE !_

**Purple Drake :** I've got it outlined, and you're not the only one with a morbid sense of humour :D I found myself cackling at the news. (tee hee hee hee) I didn't want it coming out looking rushed, so I'm taking my sweet time in reviewing it. I want it specially looked after just for you! It'll come out during the week(hopefully) so just keep an eye out for it. :)

_**Disclaimer :** _Maybe I can get the original authors to sign over the characters.. hmm, what's the plot? --cackles--

* * *

**Konoha's Flying Shadow  
**_Chapter 3 :_ Enter Pakkun!

* * *

_Another large blast erupted, sending many body parts flailing about. A blue, blood coated arm sailed past Hiei's head as he watched, eyes wide. His chest heaved, blood pumping in his veins. Without another thought he ran forward, ignoring the startled and anguished cries of his team mates. Sweat glistened against his third eye, but he paid it no heed, only one thing in mind._

_Yukina...Yukina...Yukina..._

_Blood rang in his ears as he panted, unknowingly hyperventilating. He swatted at the empty space, stretching his senses, hysterically feeling for the familiar spirit core that was his life's sole meaning. He closed his eyes, desperate, forcing his clogged nose to find her scent; anything, a glimpse of silvery hair, a pained cry.. When the smoke dissipated, he himself let out a strangled cry._

_Similar, ruby orbs stared back at him, lifeless._

_No..._

_**"YUKINA!"**_

* * *

Hiei swam in the darkness, feeling strangely at peace. His mind was awfully clear, for a painful death. Plummeting into an abyss, crushing his skull and buried by the many boulders that had once made the cliff that he'd fought atop...wasn't exactly how he'd pictured dying, no matter how honourable his actions had been. He had always thought that it would be a more exciting journey, to have his soul rescued by a ferry girl, and brought back to the spirit world where his fate would be judged.

He waited patiently, unmoving. Not a single sound could be heard, nor a gust of wind to disturb the stillness that the empty space he occupied had fallen into. He couldn't exactly pinpoint how long he'd been there, floating about, wandering in the nothingness, freely accepting, _embracing_, even, the feel of his death. Not that he was actually counting; he was dead now, after all. Time didn't matter when you had nothing to run after.

Nonetheless, he knew there were smiling faces awaiting him at the end, and he felt a pang of guilt hit his none-beating heart. His sole purpose in life had been Yukina, and he felt that with her death, he had failed her. What was the use of swearing an oath of protection, Hiei asked himself angrily, if he had not even been able to stop her from running headfirst into danger for the love of her life? He sighed, feeling defeated. He may have failed her, but he felt the gods had been generous with her. They had been gifted with mercy; Yukina and Kuwabara. They had been enamoured by each other, despite his obvious disgust and disapproval, and it only seemed appropriate that they had gone together. He couldn't imagine one living without the other, no matter how much he had wanted that to be, it was plain cruel. He may have been a demon, but he wasn't the devil.

_Let their spirits rest with peace__ and love_(har har.. --ahem)_,_ he thought, emotion building in his chest and he sighed. At least, he had been able to save the others.

He wondered briefly how much longer he'd have to wait before any shinigami would ferry his soul into the gates of spirit world.

He blinked. There was something there, in the distance; a dot.

Hiei took a step towards it, but the dot stayed as it was, merely a point. Curious, he ran at it, using his speed to his advantage and letting his desire to know what it was get the best of him. But with every step he took it got no bigger. Frustrated, he ignored the sudden change in temperature, from cold to warm and back again to the stillness of this darkened coven, and forced himself upon that point in the distance.

He smirked in triumph as it got bigger, slowly inching to form a shape, and he noticed soon, that it was not a dot, but an opening. Light seeped slightly from it, and thirsty for the heaven, or hell to come, he forced it to widen. If he bore a physical form, then he most likely would be sweating from the effort he was fusing with his determination. He looked forward to seeing Yukina.

As it got bigger, and bigger, he let the rays of the light warm his spirit as he sighed with relief, now merely content with focusing whatever lay beyond this light. It wasn't blinding per se, but it was definitely blurry. There was a shape looming above him, curiously, almost scarily, but he could barely make it out, only seeing the vague shape of a splash of silver hair. As the view came into focus, he let himself stare into a single black eye. It crinkled into an awkward smile.

_What the FU__—_

Hiei screamed bloody murder.

* * *

Kakashi paced back and forth, eyes wide and face set into a permanent cringe. The stupid thing had woken him at the wee hours of the morn and hadn't stopped screaming since. It's been six hours, he thought furiously, and twenty-four, _yes,_ _twenty__-four_, had come barrelling on his door to scold him about the baby. Six of those had been shinobi, calmly warning him, and then later suggesting he knock out the little piece of—

He winced, grabbing his silver mane and tugged tightly at a particularly high pitched squeal. His head was pounding and for a good portion of those six hours (approximately four hours of the time) he had been looking for that stupid note handwritten by the Hokage himself, which he had guessed had been full of tips and instructions on how to shut up the kid, but alas, his blank memory served him well and reminded him of the rather nasty gust of wind that had blown it out of his grasp.

"_Can't you shut it up?!"_ something hollered from beyond his window.

He glared, "I'm _trying!_"

It wasn't really a lie, since he _was_ trying to think of a way to get it to stop screaming. Kakashi continued his pace, multiple scrolls he'd pulled from his shelf in an effort to find _something_ kicked to the side and out of his path. He groaned and fell back on his futon with his face in his hands. Turning over, he grabbed his thick pillow and pulled it over his head, relishing the slight moment of silence, or as close to it that he had come to, before something struck him.

Sitting up abruptly, a glint entered his eyes as he stared at the screaming infant. His eye twitched; it wasn't even _crying_; no tears seeping from those scrunched eyes, he was just bawling and shrieking and—Kakashi jumped forward with the grace of an experienced ninja, landing in a crouched position over the basket, he held the fluffy pillow above his head proudly, prepared; he took a breathe, eyes narrowed... and promptly stuffed it into the howling thing's face.

The jounin sighed in relief as the noise subsided, quickly wiping sweat from his temples. He sweat dropped at the distant cheers of victory outside his window and turned back to the twitching mountain of feathers. The screaming that had been muffled was now just plain silence, if not for the rustling of the pillow. He stared at it, slowly inching towards it before tentatively placing a calloused hand atop it. He applied pressure, leaving his hand there for a good thirty seconds, before lifting the pillow.

Dark eyes, almost black, specked green, glared up at him.

Kakashi returned the glare ten-fold, a tick appearing at his right brow.

He sucked in his breathe, almost choking as he gripped the pillow tightly at the sight of that tiny puckered mouth, widening, ready to scream... his shoulders tensed, muscles clenching—a stomach growl echoed in his apartment.

The baby whimpered.

* * *

After searching and successfully finding a bottle prepared in the baby knapsack, he fed the thing and placed it back in his basket, content with the quiet. Kakashi almost literally hit himself for his stupidity, but I mean of _course_ the little thing was hungry; he didn't exactly remember it eating since he'd arrived in his apartment. He nodded to himself, lying back on his futon. He let out a contented sigh at the calm atmosphere and let himself fall asleep, intent on regaining those six hours of sleep lost.

* * *

Then again, nothing ever goes the way you want it to.

Kakashi had barely shut his eyes when the irritating noise of blankets rustling began. Groaning, he rubbed his only available eye and sat up, glaring in the general direction of the basket. Deciding that since it was not in any sort of danger, and was definitely not crying, then it was safe for him to place his head back onto the pillow. He sighed, relaxed.

There was an inaudible whimper, one the silver haired man wouldn't have been able to catch had he not been trained in all areas of shinobi. He sat up sluggishly, and crawled over to the infant. Black eyes, specked green, stared up at him hatefully. He returned the gaze with a glare of his own.

"Stupid thing," he muttered, yawning, "the hell do you want now?"

His only reply was another suppressed whimper.

Kakashi sighed, this time in annoyance, and hesitantly inched both hands to grab the baby below the armpits. He plucked it from beneath the food imprinted blankets, oblivious to the shiver it emitted on contact with the cold air and held it in place for a few moments. He stared unblinkingly into equally dark eyes, unaware of the staring contest that had taken place before them. Time passed, and Kakashi could feel his eyes stinging, watering from the dry air, but he refused to blink; not when the _thing,_ as he had dubbed it, was looking at him like that.

Even with an equally food imprinted bonnet hugging his head, light silvery strands poking from beneath and being completely naked despite the loincloth, the baby still managed to look successfully contemptuous regarding the silver haired jounin.

They exchange heated glares, the only interruption being the occasional accidental whimper that would escape those tiny lips, but they didn't let it hinder them; moving forth with their little contest. Kakashi watched in morbid fascination as its eyes screwed shut, letting himself waft in the slight satisfaction of triumph (He won! He _won!_), the thing's body shaking, curling on himself, muscles clenching under tense arms... the jounin prepared himself for the oncoming scream, ready to drop it and reach for the pillow, but soon later he himself let out an uncharacteristic scream of his own.

Mouth hanging open, he first stared at the white chunky liquid dripping down his shinobi attire, which he had yet to change out of. Slowly he turned to the window, eyes, narrowed, easily locating the barely visible Hokage Tower in the distance, and placed the happily gurgling baby down. He plugged the thing's ears with gentle fingers.

He cursed long and loud.

* * *

The weeks passed in similar fashion, to the Hatake's dismay. He had gotten less sleep then he ever had on his missions, high ranked and not, but he did not falter in the success of the mission. Even when it slept, he would watch it, fearful of the child's lung capacity, with a scroll in lap ready to report any disturbance. The first day since receiving the monstrous creature had been just plainly depressing, but after some thought (and swearing. _Lots _of swearing.), he decided to prove to his village leader that he was not very easily defeated. So he there he was, eye bags deep enough to match the Kazakage's youngest son, sitting on the opposite wall, with the basket across from him.

The baby stirred, but otherwise stayed asleep. In the weeks since getting acquainted with it, he had been puked on _eighteen _times, had been sprayed with urine at least _nine_ times and had dropped a poop-filled diaper on his floor twice, the brown substance splattering everywhere. He shuddered at the memories of the last one. He was positive he smelled as awful as the baby did, and that his crap one room apartment reeked as much as he did.

All in all, it was a pretty obvious how well exactly his mission was going.

A _poof_ resounded outside his window, and he jumped, glancing fearfully at the sleeping baby. It had sensitive ears, and the smallest noise, he learned, after tripping on a bottle, could awaken it. And once woken, it was highly difficult to shut up.

He tiptoed over to the ledge of his window, peeking over the sill. The mask of an ANBU member stared back at him blankly. The other shinobi sweat dropped at the crazed glint in the copy ninja's only visible eye, his gloved hands swaying in different signs, signalling him to be as quiet as humanly possible before opening the window.

"_Shhh!"_

The ANBU rolled his eyes at the obviously driven insane Hatake. He pulled a scroll from his pocket and handed it to his fellow shinobi.

"Hokage-sama is expecting you." He said in a way of explanation.

There was a sign of a groan of despair in the way those silver brows twitched, but, deciding he'd rather not know, and it wasn't any of his business _anyway_, he nodded curtly and left the Hatake alone. The man in question swatted at the leftover smoke of the man's _poof_ unconsciously, other hand holding the scroll in place as he read the contents. His brows inched into his hairline with every word and by the end; he frowned, pondering his new dilemma.

A meeting with the Hokage.

He glanced at the basket; what is he supposed to do with it while he's away? He scratched at his silver mane, wondering, when an idea bloomed. He smiled, forming his hands into seals.

* * *

"_Oh, Yumi," the man moaned deeply, thrusting his hips forward and—_

The third Hokage shut his book tight and threw it in a drawer of his desk, easily locating the key in his hat and locking it. His accomplishment lasted barely a second. He smiled at his young friend, Hatake Kakashi, as he appeared from beyond the smoke, approximately two and a half hours late, with a copy of the orange book he'd been reading only a few minutes prior tucked in his gloved hands.

* * *

_Screams a lot. Is always hungry. Has barely grown. Always whines. Has specked eyes. Poops a lot. Sleeps a lot. Hardly cries with tears, though—_

Sarutobi slowly rolled the report mission back, face blank. He looked up at the triumphant face of his pupil, trying to get his message across. What the hell kind of report was _that?_ He shook his head, deciding against scolding the young man, instead leaning on the satisfaction he got whenever he thought of the baby in his—speaking of which, he glanced around, letting out a puff from his pipe.

"Where..." he started wearily, "is the subject of your mission?"

Kakashi scratched his head, a habit he was very easily falling into.

"Well, you see..."

* * *

Hiei glared at the white ceiling hatefully. Hunger clawed at the insides of his stomach, but he pushed back the tears despite his body's sensitivity to the pain. He also hates his blankets; he was wrapped in a green sheet with sushi patterns all over it, making him ache more for food. He closed his eyes, hating his child's body, not caring anymore how that had come to be. He tried to turn over, attempting to block the sun's harsh rays from disturbing his sleep, but to no avail. He was right next to the window. He didn't budge. He hated that too.

He shifted; he hated _everything_.

Imagine his surprise when he was so readily welcoming death with open arms, only to wake up _alive_. Yes, _alive_. Life meant no Yukina. Meant more living, more _fighting _and oh, did he mention _no Yukina!?_ And in a child's body, no less! He narrowed his eyes, cursing Koenma and Spirit world endlessly. He hated them. Loathed them.

A yip broke his hateful trance and he looked to the side.

He stared at the wrinkly face of the dog and scowled.

He hated the masked man as well.

* * *

"You left him with _PAKKUN?!"_

Kakashi glared defensively, "Pakkun is perfectly capable of—"

* * *

Hiei glared at the ceiling, tears threatening to fall. He took a quick glance at the singing dog, and closed his eyes, willing the ground to open up and swallow him. He really hated being alive.

"—oh and Kashi-kun also taught me this one; _itsy bitsy spider went up the water—_"

He was going to _murder_ Koenma.

* * *

The third Hokage massaged his temples, already feeling the start of a migraine. Kakashi had _stuffed the baby with a pillow_. He sighed, wondering if he had made the right decision in handing over parentage to him. He shook his head. He had made his decision; he wasn't going to go back on it now. It had been five years since Kyuubi's attack, and the silver haired man's fragile state had been completely obliterated by the death of his mentor. Many were known to tiptoe around him since Obito, but Minato had just sent him over the edge.

Kakashi was known to hog all important and high classed missions. Already an ANBU captain at the age of 13, his high position allowed him leeway. Though some admired him for his abilities and accomplishments, others were jealous of his skills; of course, benefiting from being the legacy of the disgraced White Fang and that Sharingan eye he'd received... but Sarutobi knew better. The way he snatched every extended high classed missions like a baby did candy; the man was suicidal.

He had seen him walking into the path of self-destruction, coming back from his long-termed missions haggard and bloody. He was worn, Sarutobi could tell, and though it was done unconsciously, his actions spoke louder then his words. The silver haired man, still a boy in his eyes, would dive head first into danger expecting his death, hoping to join his loved ones. But he always came back unscathed. It was a pitiful sight.

But then... then he'd returned one mission with a baby clutched tightly to his chest.

And he'd _known_.

It was obvious by Kakashi's report that the child had been left out in the forest to die, having probably been the brunt of a nasty prank or ritual by the way his younger peer described the scorch marks. The third Hokage hadn't even bothered checking for missing newborns; why would he return the baby to those who had thrown him away? He glared at his hands, feeling the pain of the world on his shoulders. He was deeply disappointed in his village. First Naruto... and now, this.

But on sight, the awkward stance they'd made; hugging each other as though hungry for love. Sarutobi had known. They would help each other. It would most probably take time, but it could work. He just had to wait it out and watch. The baby would save Kakashi, as he had saved the baby.

* * *

Kakashi _poof_'ed back home, wary of the gusty winds that had taken over the country. The first time he'd been victim to the winter's wrath, losing the note to the vengeful air currents. But not this time. With childish glee he rubbed the scroll against his masked cheek before greeting his long time friend.

"Kashi-kun," was the gruff bark in reply.

He waved a lazy one hand salute, plopping down beside the pug. The baby was awake and glaring at him with teary eyes. He glared back. There came that whimper again.

"He's been doing that since you left, boss." The pug reported, before continuing on morosely. "I tried singing to him. It didn't work..."

Kakashi sweat dropped, images from his childhood coming to mind. He glanced at the pained look on the baby's face. Maybe he shouldn't have taught the dog the joys of karaoke...

* * *

_Babies, newborns specifically, are very sensitive creatures. The smallest action could harm it; wounding it fatally. They are in a state of fragility, wherein uneven temperatures would most likely disturb them. We may be able to withstand the heat of the summer and the cold of the winter, but they cannot. They are also to be handled with care. Under no circumstances should they be handled with but the utmost tenderness. They are also more prone to hunger, as they are in need of nutriments and many other vitamins to grow older and thus, stronger. Sleep is as essential to them as the milk they drink. Until their teeth have grown, they are strictly forbidden any sort of solid food. They may face the dangers of choking with their inability to chew. They should be fed at least once every two hours, and burped right after, if they are not asleep. Disturbance of sleep result in cranky children and no burping in puking. Also, unlike their adult counterparts, babies have yet to develop the strength to hold up their own head. The caretaker must place a hand beneath the neck to support it. Without support, the head will loll back and snap its own neck. It—_

* * *

The scroll ended with the flourished signature of the Hokage.

Kakashi swallowed audibly, exchanging a glance with Pakkun, eyes wide. Slowly he rolled the scroll back, tossing it away. He looked at the newborn in his lap, happily sucking away at his bottle. Who knew taking care of babies could be so complicated?

He shook his head, taking the empty bottle away from the puckered lips. He placed a hesitant hand under the infant's neck, supporting it so it would lean onto his shoulder and tapped on his back, afraid of his own strength. Next to him, Pakkun hummed tunelessly.

A-ranked indeed.

* * *

_HAH ! well, that was alot longer. You know what to do; now go make an author happy :)_


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